Riff: Justin Timberlake – “Pusher Love Girl”

You gave me a taste and now I know/That there’s no getting off you/I don’t wanna ever come down

So the saviour of pop kicks off his first album in seven yrs with an almighty damp squib, a sub-D’Angelo acoustic slow jam which lazily uses the same drug dealer/lover metaphor he already hammered home on a collaboration with his Dutch protegee Esmee Denters over four years ago; [LISTEN].

Rebecca Samson

I think you’re being unfair. This is a great album with great vocals, production and melodic counterpoint. Listen again!

Jon O’Brien

I agree that there are some great vocals and “Mirrors” is as good as anything he’s ever done. But for me, the production is self-indulgent and offers very little that JT & Timbaland weren’t already doing over a decade ago. I am a big fan of Justified & FutureSex/LoveSounds, but after such a long absence, I was really disappointed how he didn’t even really try to move his sound on at all.

Riff by Jon O'Brien

Jon O'Brien is a UK-based staff writer for SONGLYRICS. He holds a journalism degree from the University of Central Lancashire and has written thousands of biographies and reviews for Allmusic.com, among several other pieces for established music publications.